Help Your Hay Fever: Know The Pollen Count

Minimise the misery of hay fever: get the official Met Office pollen count - and discover which types of pollen affect you, and when their production peaks

If you suffer from hay fever - and one in five of us do - you'll be able to help to minimise your suffering if you know the pollen count on a given day, and also if you know when particular types of pollen may be a problem for you during the year.

Scroll down to find out more about the three main pollen triggers - tree pollen, weed pollen and grass pollen - and when they're each likely to be a problem.

As you can see from the infographic below, different types of pollen are produced by plants at different times of the year, not just in the summertime. Depending on the weather, which affects when plants come into their flowering period, some type of pollen can be in production from January - starting with pollen from the hazel, yew and alder trees - right through until September, with peaks for nettle and mugwort in late August.

Each pollen-production period has its peak time, which can vary according to weather conditions year by year, which is when your hay fever will probably be at its worst. By studying the chart, you'll come to know which type of pollen causes your hay fever.